In Sports News: In the Tipsport Extraliga hockey playoffs, Liberec reach
the semi-finals while Vítkovice force a game 7 in their quarterfinal
against Pardubice;in the NHL, goalies Neuwirth, Pavelec suffer defeat
against Caroline, Chicago; in football, Liberec remain within three points
of league-leaders Sparta; Chelsea book spot in Champions League
quarterfinals.

Tipsport Extraliga: Liberec book spot in playoff semi-finals

Liberec - České Budějovice, photo: CTK
In hockey, Vítkovice trounced opponents Pardubice in their game 6
quarterfinal in the Tipsport Extraliga, winning by a score of 6:1. In the
win Vítkovice – who got goals from Klimek, Pohl, Punčochář and
Ujčík who had a a timely hat-trick from – evened the series and forced
a deciding game 7 to be played on Tuesday evening.

In the quarterfinals, clubs Kometa Brno and Plzeň are a win away from
advancing to the next round: Brno leads Sparta 3:2 and will face the Prague
club later on Monday; Plzeň lead Zlín by the same margin and could wrap
things up also later in the day. Liberec, meanwhile, have already made it
to the next round, after eliminating České Budějovice 4:1 in their
series.

NHL action: goalies Neuwirth, Pavelec post losses

Ondřej Pavelec, photo: CTK
Overseas in the NHL on Sunday, the Edmonton Oilers’ Aleš Hemský was
named the first star in his team’s game against Phoenix. The player got
six shots off against the Phoenix goalie, scoring once to give the club a
2:0 lead. Phoenix, however, came back and spoiled the night for the Oilers,
edging the Canadian team 3:2 in a penalty shootout.

In other action, Washington goalie Michal Neuwirth earned his first assist
of the season after he deflected the puck and it was picked up by Alexander
Ovechkin who scored against Chicago. But the assist was one of the few
bright moments of the evening for the Czech goalie, who allowed five goals
by the Blackhawks: the final score was 5:2.

The Winnipeg Jets, also suffered a defeat, losing 4:3 against Carolina.
Jets’ goalie Ondřej Pavelec stopped 31 shots by the Hurricane but it
wasn’t enough.

Football: Liberec defeat Olomouc, Sparta down rivals Ostrava

Olomouc - Liberec, photo: CTK
In football, Liberec got a little bit of a scare against Olomouc at the
weekend, trailing the home team in the first half by a score of 1:0, before
turning on the goals in the second. Although the game was tied at 2:2 in
the 61st minute, Liberec added two more goals for a final score of 4:2 to
snatch all three points remain within reach of Sparta, who defeated Ostrava
2:0 on Friday. In the league, Plzeň are in third place on 40 points,
having defeated Jablonec 2:0.

Čech’s Chelsea FC to play Benfica in Champion League’s quarterfinals

Petr Čech, photo: CTK
Football club Chelsea with Czech goalkeeper Petr Čech will face the
Portuguese side Benfica Lisbon in the quarterfinals of the Champions
League. The first leg is scheduled for the end of March in Lisbon, while
the second is to be played in London in the first week of April. Petr Čech
has welcomed the draw but warned Benfica was a strong opponent that had
knocked out Russia’s FC Zenit.
Chelsea FC secured a spot in the Champions League’s last 16 when on
Wednesday they defeated Italy’s SSC Napoli 4:1 in extra time after having
lost 3:1 in the first leg in Naples.